Trials & Litigation

First Hispanic judge to head Chicago-area federal court district says juries need to be more diverse

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The first Hispanic judge to take the the helm of the federal district court system in the Chicago area is calling for juries to be more diverse.

Although he does not have a specific fix to offer to the problem, which other judges also have recognized, Castillo said in an interview before he was sworn in Tuesday that he hopes he and others can elicit cooperation by reaching out to informing minority communities about the jury system, the Associated Press reports.

“I’m not only going to have diversity as a goal, but I am going to ask this court to embrace diversity,” he told the AP.

As chief judge of the Northern District of Illinois, Castillo will oversee 300 employees in one of the nation’s busiest federal trial court systems.

Related coverage:

ABAJournal.com: ” ‘Rigged’ jury pool has no black men, lawyer complains; judge then issues gag order”

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